Striking dock workers stood firm at the picket line at the Port of Liverpool today as they continue their fight for better wages and working conditions.
More than 560 port operatives and engineers at Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC) rallied with chants of "unite, unite, we stand up and we fight" as they continue to strike over a 8.3% pay rise offer, which they say amounts to a pay cut as it is not in line with the current rate of inflation.
Unite the Union's general secretary, Sharon Graham, attended the picket line to show her support for the workers, who have also objected to what they say is MDHC’s failure to undertake a pay review and issues surrounding shift rotas.
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Sharon said: "The workers are on strike for one reason, because they've been asked to take a real terms pay cut when their employer has made a huge profit. This employer has made £141m in profit, and they're saying to their workers they need to take a pay cut. That's not fair, I don't think anybody would think it is fair, and unfortunately they've had to now take the step of going on strike.
"These members have their families to feed, they've got to make sure that they're able to live, that they're able to pay their bills like anyone else. When their employer is making £141m in profit - which is bigger than the entire wage bill - then of course they're going to say that's not fair, and I totally agree with them and support them
"The cost of living crisis is terrible and I think workers are really struggling. This is one of the reasons that we need to be in the workers' corner. I'm fully, absolutely in the workers' corner. In Unite, we've already got £150m back for workers in the year I've been in office. I'm going to wake up every morning and fight for workers, for them to get decent pay.
"When bosses go out nobody notices, because they're not the ones who do the work. They're not the ones who create the profit. It's the workers who do the work. It's the workers who create the profit. Pay them a decent piece of the pie and then we won't have these situations."
The strike is expected to continue until October 3 - with possible further strikes on the horizon if Peel Ports, MDCH's parent company, and union members do not find a resolution.
Tommy Jennings, a shop steward at the port, said: "We're prepared to go on as long as it takes, because we believe that we're right. We believe that we're worth more. We believe that the company can afford to pay us more.
"We do the job, we do the work. They are not prepared to pay us inflation rates, but they're happy to put the prices of containers up and charge the shipping companies more to protect themselves."
Steven Saunderson said: "A lot has been said about dock workers making on average £43k a year, but not one single person on strike at the moment is on a salary of £40k or over - not one.
"Most of the people striking here are ship hands, who only make £23k a year. That's not even enough to pay gas and electricity bills. There are lads who leave at the end of the week and are having to go to food banks to feed their families."
David Huck, chief operating officer at Peel Ports, said: “I am deeply disappointed Unite has rejected our significant pay package after many months of negotiation. This is bad news for our employees, families and other local employers.
“We fully recognise our colleagues’ concerns on the cost-of-living crisis, and that’s why we have responded with a pay package that represents a 10% average increase in annual pay. The Port of Liverpool is a major employer in the Liverpool City Region.
“We have invested more than £1.2 billion over the last decade, transforming the prosperity of the region, creating more than 900 new skilled jobs and, in turn, supporting more than 7,200 additional local jobs in the supply chain. We urge the union to work with us at the negotiating table so that together we can find a resolution."
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